


Chasing Faces

by Meaisin



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drunk Sex, First Time, I'll probably whip out the eihaji agenda later on, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, One Night Stands, it's just like mentioned, there's no actual sex in this, tomoya is a gay little fanboy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-08-19 20:09:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8223332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meaisin/pseuds/Meaisin
Summary: Tomoya has been captivated with Hokuto ever since he first saw him perform. But he hasn't seen him around the university theatre department at all--until now. Drunk and infatuated, he ends up in bed with him, but he's certain Hokuto would never go for someone as ordinary as him sober. So he runs.Unfortunately this backfires when he finds himself sitting across from him at lunch the next day.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I haven't actually been to Japanese college yet, but I'm trying to do proper research and all that. A lot of it is admittedly based on my knowledge of American college. If you notice something that doesn't check out, please let me know! Those sort of inaccuracies in fics really bother me too, so I'd really like to fix it if I can.
> 
> Edited and concept assisted by the lovely clockwork_melody, who inspires me to actually fucking write down our ideas. Thanks babe.

Tomoya had never been more mortified in his life. He had just managed to make it back to his apartment, slamming the door behind him and sinking to the ground against it. He buried his face in his hands as his already reddened face compounded tenfold, and let out an agonized groan.

“Tomoya-kun…?”

Hajime had roused from his bed and was rubbing his eyes sleepily at the door. It was still early--only around 7 a.m., and a Sunday to boot. “What’s wrong?”

“Hajime…” said Tomoya, swallowing hard, unsure how to even begin. “I… I-”

Hajime’s face turned down in concern as he sat up. “Are you okay?”

“I… I did it.”

Hajime paused in his departure from his bed. “Eh?”

“I… _did_ it.”

“Did… what exactly?” asked Hajime warrily.

“I did… _it_ , Hajime, _it!_ ” Hajime’s eyes widened dramatically, but now Tomoya couldn’t stop talking. “I just… I was at that party last night, you know, the one the theatre department was having? I thought I could meet some other drama majors, make some friends, I dunno, but they all just wanted to drink really, like any other party. So I had some, you know, to get my nerves down and just… there he was.”

It had been only the third week of classes when Tomoya first saw him. Tomoya had gone to a monologue showcase performance from a higher level acting class. The very last monologue had been a highly emotional piece by a sophomore named Hidaka Hokuto, and it was the second most stunning bit of acting he had ever seen. He’d hoped to speak to him after the show, but he had had to run away when the junior who had been charged with showing him the theatre’s inner workings had spotted him. (Hibiki Wataru had originally been one of the deciding factors in Tomoya choosing this school and department. But now he seemed determined to chase him off.)

Tomoya hadn’t seen Hokuto around the theatre department since. He wondered if such a talented actor could possibly not be a drama major, or perhaps a minor. He’d half begun to think he’d imagined him completely when there he was, leaning against a doorframe and smiling down at a pretty girl with brown hair who Tomoya did frequently see around the theatre--Anzu.

She wasn’t in any theatre classes; a business management major and music minor kept her schedule fairly full. But she always seemed to make time for them, mostly with publicity, designing and distributing their posters and programs. He’d heard she did the same thing for the music department. Tomoya liked her a lot, as did most everyone else, but at the moment he barely saw her. Instead his eyes were locked fast on the face he’d been searching for for nearly a month.

He must have stared for a long time, but at some point Hokuto looked up and caught his gaze. The gentle smiled he offered made Tomoya’s cheeks burn and he almost tripped over himself as he approached Hokuto. The exchange had been sloppy and embarrassing on Tomoya’s part, but Hokuto had chuckled and smiled kindly at him. Anzu had wandered off before long at the beckoning of a tall red haired boy Tomoya recognized from the costume shop, who offered to walk her home. They’d talked for a long time after that, the conversation becoming easier the more they drank.

When Tomoya had woken up at 6:37 a.m., his head and hips pounding painfully, he had to keep himself from screaming. There he was again, sleeping soundly in the bed next to Tomoya. Tomoya didn’t know if Hokuto was naked and he was too afraid to look, but _Tomoya_ was naked, and at the very least Hokuto wasn’t wearing a shirt, so that wasn’t a good sign.

He stumbled off the bed, trying to ignore his unsteady legs as he hurriedly pulled his clothes back on. He contemplated for a moment, staring down at his senpai in amazement, that maybe he should stay. But then he imagined the look of disappointment on Hokuto’s sober face when he realized just how plain a person he had slept with, and how it would sound when he told him to please forget about it.

And so he ran.

Now Hajime was staring at him with a mix of sympathy and wonder. Tomoya knew he’d never expected this kind of thing from his best friend. Slowly Hajime slid off his bed and disappeared into the bathroom. He returned with a glass of water and two tablets of ibuprofen. Tomoya accepted them gratefully and Hajime watched him nervously as he downed the water.

“D-did you drink a lot? Do you want me to go get you a Pocari Sweat from the vending machine? I think that’s better for hangovers…”

“Ah, you don’t have to,” insisted Tomoya, not wanting him to fuss. “I think I’ll just go back to sleep.”

“Okay…” mumbled Hajime reluctantly, helping him to his feet. “He used a, um… c-condom, right?”

“Yes!” said Tomoya quickly, blushing. He thought he’d definitely feel it if there was any...thing inside him. “Yeah, don’t worry.”

“Good,” sighed Hajime in relief, his own face burning. “W-well you know, I’m going to a lunch with my senpai later today. Do you want to come? I understand if you’re too tired, but you always start thinking weird things when you’re on your own…”

“Ahh, I do, don’t I?” said Tomoya, closing his eyes as he collapsed on his own bed. “Sure, yeah. It’d probably be better to take my mind off of it.”

“Okay!” said Hajime eagerly, smiling at him. He moved to go back to sleep himself, but his smile faltered a bit as his gaze wandered over Tomoya one more time. “Tomoya-kun? Is… that your t-shirt?”

* * *

“Tomoya-kun? Are you ready?”

Tomoya sighed. He’d been sitting on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest, staring at Hokuto’s shirt. He still couldn’t believe he’d managed to pick the wrong shirt up off the floor. How was he even going to find him to return it? What had Hokuto done with his shirt? Was it still sitting on the floor in that spare bedroom? He’d washed Hokuto’s as soon as he’d woken up again and hung it to dry, and had been sitting watching it ever since. Hajime had just returned to their apartment from the library to fetch him for lunch.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” he said resignedly, pulling himself up and following Hajime out.

He tried to listen to Hajime’s retelling of how sophomore Akehoshi Subaru had rescued him two weeks ago when he got lost trying to find the building a guest was supposed to be speaking at. Subaru hadn’t known where it was either, but he had wandered around with Hajime until the vice president of the student council had spotted them looking confused and shown them the way. Tomoya wasn’t sure how this qualified as Subaru rescuing him, but Hajime seemed very happy to take it as such.

“He said he wanted me to meet some of his friends!” said Hajime excitedly, though Tomoya could tell he was nervous.

“Is it really alright for me to tag along?” he asked, thinking suddenly he was being rude.

“It’s fine!” insisted Hajime. “Akehoshi-senpai said he wanted to meet you too, so it’s killing two birds with one stone.”

“Shinono~n!”

They looked up across the street where a boy with orange hair was waving excitedly at them.

“Shinonon?” questioned Tomoya with a small smile.

“Ehehe, he likes to give people weird nicknames,” explained Hajime, blushing lightly as he waved back. “Good afternoon, Akehoshi-senpai! Sorry, are we late?”

“Nuh uh, you’re fine!” said Subaru cheerfully. “Hokke is running late though, so he said to go ahead inside.”

He introduced his present friends, both of whom Tomoya had seen walking around campus with Anzu. Isara Mao was a sociology major and the student council treasurer, who had a reputation for having a foot in almost every department from their sheer amount of activities. Yuuki Makoto was a computer science major and on the school broadcasting committee.

Hajime introduced Tomoya and they made their way into the little cafe. Tomoya had begun to push the previous night’s incident into the back of his mind and enjoy himself when Subaru’s final friend arrived.

“I apologize for being late,” he said, coming around from Tomoya’s back and moving to take the seat across from him. “I had a bit of a rough night last night…”

He sat down with a sigh and when he looked up Tomoya stared wide-eyed and red-faced at Hidaka Hokuto.

“That’s not like you, Hokke~!” scolded Subaru as Hokuto’s eyes widened back at him and a blush crawled up his face. “You’re always scolding me for being late!”

“Yes, but unlike you, it’s actually a rare occurance for me,” countered Hokuto after a single nervous cough, tearing his gaze away to narrow his eyes at Subaru. “I am sorry to show your kouhai this side of me at our first meeting, though. Shino-kun, is it? I’m Hidaka Hokuto. I hope you’ll excuse me…”

“O-of course!” said Hajime quickly, shaking his head. “It’s no problem at all. Thank you for taking the time to meet me. Ah, this is my friend, Mashiro Tomoya!”

Tomoya wanted to die as Hokuto’s eyes slid back over to him. “Nice to meet you, Mashiro-kun,” he said coolly.

“N-nice to meet you,” choked out Tomoya, trying desperately to forget that Hokuto had breathed his first name into his ear not twelve hours ago.

“Ah, Hokke is a business major, but he’s a drama minor, so you two should get along, right~?” said Subaru.

“Are you a drama major, Mashiro-kun?” he asked, as if Tomoya hadn’t told him multiple times the night before. Hokuto was so composed. Was he just going to pretend it hadn’t happened? Of course he would, there was no way he’d admit to sleeping with someone like Tomoya, especially in front of his friends. Tomoya felt a little wave of panic that he’d never get a chance to apologize for his plain face or return Hokuto’s t-shirt or tell him how much he didn’t regret it, not even a little bit…

He swallowed the feeling quickly and put on a weak smile.

“Yes, I am. I’m not very good, but… I’m going to work hard.”

Hokuto smiled kindly at him, the same sort of smile from the night before, and he nearly melted in his chair.

“I look forward to seeing some of your work,” he said.

Tomoya didn’t pay much attention during the rest of the meal, instead focusing on not existing. At some point Hajime seemed to understand the situation and began steering the conversation away whenever it veered too close. Tomoya was eager to run back to the apartment and bury his head under the covers, but as they exited the cafe, Hokuto stopped him.

“I wonder if I might have a bit more of your time, Mashiro-kun? There’s something I want to ask you about the upcoming show.”

Tomoya could only bring himself to nod as the others said their goodbyes and Hajime cast him a concerned glance. Tomoya offered him a weak smile, and then they were alone.

“Shall we go somewhere a bit more private to talk?” offered Hokuto, eyeing the passers by.

Tomoya nodded again and followed him down the sidewalk. He led them to a nearby park, which was decently crowded since it was a Sunday, but they managed to find a path through the trees a bit out of the way where there weren’t any people around. Tomoya stared at the ground, imagining all the ways Hokuto was about to tell him he was inadequate.

“I’m sorry!”

Tomoya looked up to see Hokuto bowing deeply to him. “Eh?”

“I drank too much last night and ended up taking advantage of you,” said Hokuto earnestly. “I apologize. I realize you might be scared of me now but-”

“What?!” squeaked Tomoya, staring wide-eyed at him.

“No, well because I-” started Hokuto, lifting his head a bit.

“No!” cried Tomoya, shaking his head wildly. “I’m not-! You didn’t-! I- _I_ should be the one apologizing for running away. I didn’t think you’d want to wake up to a face like mine, so I just… I know you never would have gone for me if you were sober so…”

“What?” said Hokuto, standing up fully and looking at Tomoya with knit eyebrows. “I may have been drunk, but I was still fully in control of my actions. Certainly I acted a little… quicker than I might have normally… And I didn’t realize you were uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable?” Tomoya parroted. “I wasn’t uncomfortable! It was… um… nice…”

He felt his cheeks burning as he stared at the ground. Hokuto was silent. How could he have thought he was uncomfortable? He recalled being embarrassingly over eager and Hokuto having to reel him in and insist on proper preparation. Considering his backside was still sore anyway, he was suddenly very grateful for it, but he pushed the memory away.

“I see,” said Hokuto, sighing in what might have been relief. “Well then, what would you like to do?”

“Eh?”

“Well, did you want to pretend it didn’t happen?”

“N-no!” said Tomoya quickly, wanting desperately not to. “Unless you wanted to, of course…”

“I’m fine with it. We’ll likely be seeing each other more if our friend groups are mingling. I’d prefer if it wasn’t awkward, and if you didn’t look like you wanted to evaporate when you look at me.”

“I-I’m sorry…” said Tomoya dejectedly.

“Well, it was understandable today,” said Hokuto with another of his soft, kind smiles. “Don’t apologize. But obviously we can’t tell everyone. Those sort of rumors…”

“Of course!” agreed Tomoya, nodding. “Ah, but! I did sort of already tell Hajime… we’re roommates and I sort of panicked, but he’s a really good guy! He won’t tell anyone, honest!”

“That’s alright, he doesn’t seem like the type to go around spilling secrets and spreading rumors. I’d prefer it if we didn’t let Akehoshi know, though… he’d definitely make fun of me.”

Hokuto’s cheek tinged pink and his eyes wandered in embarrassment for a moment. Tomoya thought he looked really cute when he blushed…

“Well then,” Hokuto continued with a small cough. “I suppose we should start by being friends? We barely know each other after all…”

“Ah, yes!” said Tomoya excitedly. “I’d like that.”

They continued on awkwardly for a bit longer and exchanged phone numbers and line accounts.  When Tomoya returned to the apartment he found Hajime pacing nervously in a tiny circle, which was the only size their one room apartment would allow. He practically leapt at Tomoya when he entered.

“Tomoya-kun! You’re back! I was so worried… Hidaka-senpai is the one you were talking about right? I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize!”

“Ahh, calm down Hajime, okay?” insisted Tomoya, taking hold of his shoulders. “It’s fine, you don’t need to worry about it.”

“Really?” asked Hajime with a small sigh of relief. “Then, your talk with him went alright? What did he say?”

“Oh, yeah it went fine! We, uh, had a little misunderstanding, but um…”

Hajime cocked his head to one side curiously as Tomoya blushed and started to giggle.

“He wants to be friends…”

“Um, that’s good then?” offered Hajime, admiring Tomoya’s dopey smile. Friends was apparently a lot more than he’d been expecting.

“Ah!” he said suddenly, pointing behind Hajime out their small balcony.

“What?” asked Hajime, turning around. There on their laundry line was Hokuto’s t-shirt--Tomoya had completely forgotten about it. He started giggling again and this time so did Hajime. The whole thing suddenly felt very funny now that the panic had passed. And so they sat down on the floor and had a giggle fit together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written a chapter fic since the South Park fandom like 6 years ago. Please bear with me as I try to keep up a decent update schedule.
> 
> Any sort of feedback is appreciated! Thanks for reading~


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hokuto is invited to Tomoya's showcase!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally... sorry that took so long!
> 
> Please open your hearts to the EiHaji agenda, okay thanks.

Despite not seeing Hokuto even once outside of his monologue performance previously, Tomoya now seemed to see him everywhere. His acting class got out just before Tomoya’s started, and if he hurried from his previous class, they would cross paths. Hokuto’s smile made it worth feeling silly sprinting across campus. If he went with Hajime to the library to study, there was a good chance of finding Hokuto with notes scattered across an entire table. When Hajime was invited to Subaru and Makoto’s apartment, he learned that Hokuto’s was right next door, so Tomoya began tagging along in hopes of seeing him.

He felt childish chasing him around and relishing in the smiles he received in recognition. They hadn’t even had that much time to actually talk--Hokuto was _very_ busy, it seemed. But Hajime would giggle and tell Tomoya how happy he looked whenever he even caught a glimpse of him.

Hajime wasn’t the only one to notice Tomoya’s improved mood. His senpai, Hibiki Wataru, the president of the drama club and the genius behind _the_ most stunning bit of acting Tomoya had ever seen, had noticed too. Tomoya hated it.

Wataru was the most difficult and overbearing person Tomoya had ever met, and he seemed determined to make Tomoya’s life a living hell. He had criticized everything about Tomoya since he’d been there, all while dressing him up in ridiculous costumes (mostly _girls_ costumes) and giving him roles to practice with that he was sure he wasn’t well suited for. But he refused to let him chase him off; he wouldn’t give up that easily.

Recently he had been asking Tomoya who had him smiling like that every time he walked into club, and Tomoya had a horrible feeling Wataru knew _exactly_ who it was, though he didn’t know _how_ he knew. Maybe Wataru had seen them together at the party. Tomoya only hoped he wouldn’t take it out on Hokuto, who did turn out to be a member of the drama club, but had requested exclusion from activities until the first show had passed so he could get a good head start in the semester. Tomoya had only managed to snag an ensemble role for the first club production, so he wasn’t especially eager for it. But he was eager for his first showcase.

His class had three separate one acts, loosely related, that they would perform in succession. Tomoya was nervous, but he was excited. He’d been working really hard. A week before, when he caught sight of Hokuto and Anzu coming out of the library, he steeled himself and ran after them.

“Hokuto-senpai! Anzu-senpai!”

They turned and waited for him to catch up.

“What’s wrong, Tomoya?” questioned Hokuto.

“Nothing’s wrong,” said Tomoya, catching his breath. “I just… I wanted to know if you wanted to come to my showcase this Friday…”

“Your showcase?” said Hokuto, raising a brow in interest. “Ah, you’re in Acting I, aren’t you? Are you doing one-acts?”

“Y-yes,” confirmed Tomoya with a nod. “It won’t be as good as your showcase, but we’ve been putting in a lot of effort.”

Hokuto smiled at him and his stomach flipped. It kept doing that.

“Sure,” he said. “I think I’m free, amazingly enough. Anzu, will you be attending?”

“I’m ushering,” she said. “So I’ll be there, but I can’t sit with you."

“I see… Well, that’s fine. I’ll look forward to it. Break a leg, Tomoya.”

He smiled again and the two of them walked away, Anzu offering a small wave. Tomoya stared after them breathlessly. Hokuto was going to watch him perform… He felt giddy and nervous already.

* * *

“Ah, Hidaka-senpai! Over here!”

Hajime waved to him, beckoning him over to where he’d saved him a seat.

“Shino-kun, good evening,” said Hokuto as he shuffled down the row of seats.

“Good evening!” said Hajime excitedly. “I’m so nervous to see Tomoya-kun perform… he only just joined the theatre club in our high school our third year, so I haven’t seen much.”

“Our club president seems to have taken a liking to him, though that’s not necessarily a good thing for him,” said Hokuto. “I’m sure he’ll do fine. Are you here alone?”

“Oh, well, I asked Akehoshi-senpai if he would accompany me, but he said he never steps foot in the theatre on account of a senpai from his club he doesn’t like usually being here…” said Hajime dejectedly.

“Ah, yes, Akehoshi is rather averse to his captain,” agreed Hokuto. “But Morisawa-senpai is a great help with the technical side of things, and he’s not a bad actor either, given the right role.”

“Oh, but, my senpai from the tea club came with me!” added Hajime happily. Hokuto stiffened. “I don’t really like going places alone, so I was very relieved. He just went off to say hello to a friend of his… oh! President, welcome back!”

“I’m back, Hajime-kun,” said Eichi, smiling gently at his kouhai before shifting his gaze to Hokuto. “Oh my, Hidaka-kun. It’s been a while. What are you doing here?”

“I saw you in class only yesterday, Tenshouin-senpai,” said Hokuto tartly. “I’m here to support my kouhai in the theatre department. And you?”

“Did we have a class together this semester?” wondered Eichi thoughtfully. “An old man like me can’t remember every one of my classmates, you know. I’m here to keep my kouhai company, of course. How do you know my Hajime-kun, I wonder?”

“He’s a friend of my kouhai, as well as of Akehoshi,” explained Hokuto with a sigh. “He’s certainly not _yours_.”

Hajime looked nervously between the two, who were staring each other down in animosity, and grappled for a topic to draw their attention instead.

“Did you find your friend, President?”

“Oh yes,” said Eichi cheerfully, turning his attention back to him. “He’s not particularly difficult to find. These are some of his children performing, so he’s nervous for them even if he won’t admit it. He’s so cute the way he talks about them, but I do get a little jealous~”

“By all means, keep him to yourself,” said Hokuto icily.

Eichi stared at him with a tight smile and piercing eyes, seeming to be personally offended by the remark. Hajime could feel the tension radiating between them, at a loss for what to do. Fortunately he was saved by the dimming of the lights, which drew all their attention to the stage.

Hajime did his best to pay attention to all of the performances. He didn’t know much about acting, but the short plays seemed quite good to him. Hokuto was paying close attention and occasionally muttering to himself. But Eichi didn’t seem very interested, choosing instead to spend his time playing with Hajime’s hair. It felt nice, but it was very distracting and made him blush. He was grateful for the dark theater.

When at last it was Tomoya’s group’s turn, he leaned forward in his seat, excited for his best friend. Eichi dragged his eyes to the stage at last and watched with a judgemental gaze, but neither Hajime nor Hokuto noticed, all their attention focused on Tomoya.

After the show they wandered out into the lobby to wait for the actors. Tomoya appeared before long, trailing Hibiki Wataru, who seemed to be giving him notes on the spot. He looked miserable, but when he spotted Hokuto and Hajime his face lit up and he ran over to them.

“Tomoya-kun!” cried Hajime in delight, hugging him. “You’re amazing, Tomoya-kun! I was completely captivated!”

“Ah geez, thanks Hajime…” said Tomoya, blushing and smiling despite himself. “I really messed up one of the lines…”

“Ehh, really? I didn’t notice at all!”

“It was a smooth recovery,” agreed Hokuto, snapping Tomoya’s wide eyes to him. “I only noticed because I’ve been there, of course. You did very well. I can give you some notes later if you’d like?”

“Y-yes!” agreed Tomoya quickly, nodding. “Yes, that would be great! Thank you!”

“What’s this?” tutted Wataru behind him. “You will accept criticism from Hokuto-kun, but not me? I have graciously offered you my expert opinion, Tomoya-kun! You wound me!”

“Directly after a performance is hardly the time for notes, Hibiki-buchou,” scolded Hokuto, eyeing his dramatic pose distastefully. “It’s not as if it’s a repeat performance, so it’s better to let his stage adrenaline recede first, don’t you think?”

“Ah, Hokuto-kun is so practical!” lamented Wataru, looking at the ceiling in woe for his kouhai’s foolishness. “But it will be more useful when it is fresh in my mind, you see! And Tomoya-kun needs all of my help if he is to truly become AMAZING~!”

Hokuto and Tomoya both winced at the exclamation, which drew the attention of the other patrons. Hajime stared at him in a daze. Eichi giggled.

“It’s always so refreshing to see you in your natural environment, Wataru,” he said fondly. Wataru swept past the others to him immediately, taking his hand and kissing it.

“And it pleases me more than I can say to see His Majesty here in my temple!” he said graciously. “I only wish you had been able to see something a bit more polished…”

“It is unfortunate, but I was hardly expecting anything near your level,” said Eichi. Tomoya’s face fell a little.

“B-but I thought it was really good!” said Hajime quickly, looking pleadingly at Eichi. Eichi looked at him questioningly and seemed to take his meaning, looking at Tomoya for the first time and offering him a smile that likely would have looked sincere on anyone else’s face.

“I’ve definitely seen worse,” he offered.

Tomoya had no idea what to say to that, but fortunately Hokuto put a hand on his shoulder and glowered at Eichi, who raised his eyebrows.

“They are students, Tenshouin-senpai, not professionals,” he said coldly. “And no one asked for your critique. Your theatre etiquette is abysmal. Excuse us.”

“Oh my,” said Eichi, suppressing a laugh as Hokuto turned Tomoya around and steered him out of the theater. Hajime looked conflicted for a moment, before hastily bowing and following them out.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Hokuto dragging a confused Tomoya along by the wrist. Eventually Hokuto stopped and let out a sigh.

“Sorry,” he said, embarrassed. “He and I… don’t really get along.”

“I-I didn’t know,” said Hajime, bowing to him before Tomoya could respond. “I’m sorry, I invited him without thinking…”

“It isn’t your fault, Shino-kun,” assured Hokuto. “Please don’t feel bad. It’s partially my fault for provoking him earlier. I apologize, Tomoya, for taking you away…”

“No, no, it’s fine!” insisted Tomoya, waving his hands. “I wasn’t sure how to react, so I’m grateful. Really, thank you for coming tonight… I’m happy.”

He grinned bashfully at the ground and Hokuto smiled.

“U-um…” ventured Hajime uncertainly. “Akehoshi-senpai said we could stop by his apartment after the show if we wanted. Would you like to…?”

“That’s fine with me since I’m right next door,” agreed Hokuto with a nod. “Tomoya?”

“Y-yeah, sure!” he said eagerly.

* * *

 

Subaru was already drunk by the time they arrived. He threw himself on Hajime when he entered, only to immediately gasp loudly and retreat against the wall, looking down horrified at his hands.

“I’m just like Chi-chan-senpai…” he muttered before bursting into tears and collapsing on the ground, pleading forgiveness. Hajime rushed to his side to assure him he wasn’t bothered. Subaru responded by immediately draping himself over him and crying onto his shirt.

Hokuto huffed irritably and Makoto offered them drinks.

Tomoya didn’t usually drink around Hajime, who didn’t drink at all, so as not to make him uncomfortable. But Hajime was blushing and giggling as Subaru rubbed their cheeks together and sang him praises, so he figured he’d be alright with just one beer.

Three beers later he was decidedly less alright. But Hajime had fallen asleep shortly after Subaru had done the same wrapped around his waist, so he supposed it didn’t matter. Makoto had dragged Subaru up level to Hajime, nestled pillows under their heads, and draped a blanket over them.

“I think I’m gonna turn in myself,” he said with a yawn. “There’s extra futons in the closet, so help yourselves.”

“Thank you, Yuuki-senpai,” mumbled Tomoya, smiling dopily at him.

“Goodnight, Yuuki, sorry for the trouble,” said Hokuto. Makoto waved him off as he retreated into the small single bedroom he and Subaru usually shared.

Hokuto and Tomoya sat in silence for a minute, sipping their beers contently. Tomoya felt warm and sleepy and couldn’t stop staring at Hokuto. He was so handsome…

“Tomoya?”

“Hmm?” responded Tomoya sleepily. His head had fallen against Hokuto’s shoulder, but he was still staring up at him dreamily.

“If you want to sleep, let’s set up a futon,” said Hokuto, his cheeks dusted pink.

“Ehhhhh…” whined Tomoya, rubbing his head against Hokuto. “I don’t wanna sleep… I wanna… wanna…”

Hokuto only had a brief moment to swallow before Tomoya pulled him down by the front of his shirt and sloppily crushed their lips together. Tomoya giggled softly as Hokuto adjusted their position and kissed back. It was slow and a little lazy at first, but Tomoya took Hokuto’s hand on the back of his neck as encouragement and ran with it.

Hokuto was having a little bit of trouble putting his thoughts in order as Tomoya dove his tongue into his mouth and climbed on top of him. He had to put one elbow behind himself to keep from falling down, and found the other resting on Tomoya’s thigh. It felt good to have Tomoya on top of him and to kiss him. But when they stopped for a moment to breath and Tomoya looked down at him with a similar lustful and panting expression to the first night they met, Hokuto felt guilt welling up and clearing a little of the tipsy cloudiness from his brain.

But Tomoya didn’t stop for long, and he was back on Hokuto’s lips before he could make a decision. It wasn’t until Tomoya ground down hard on Hokuto’s growing erection that he snapped out of his daze.

“Tomoya, wait,” he pleaded, breaking off the kiss and turning his face away.

Unfortunately this landed his gaze directly on Subaru and Hajime, snuggling peacefully, and his stomach twisted in a knot. He turned back to Tomoya, who was breathing heavily and looked confused. Hokuto sat up properly, pouring Tomoya gently onto the floor, and grabbed his wrists.

“We need to stop,” he said earnestly. “It- it isn’t right to do this with Akehoshi and Shino-kun right there. They might wake up…”

“B-but-!” said Tomoya, tightening his grip on Hokuto’s shirt. He didn’t appear to have an argument, but Hokuto could see his brain trying to work.

“Your apartment!” he said suddenly. Hokuto swallowed nervously. “Hokuto-senpai, your apartment is right next door. Can’t we… let’s…”

He rubbed his head needily on Hokuto’s chest as he trailed off and Hokuto suppressed a groan. He was really so cute, but…

“W-we can’t, Tomoya,” said Hokuto, trying to put some authority into his voice. He grabbed onto his shoulders and gently pried him off his chest. “You drank too much. You should just go to sleep…”

“But!” protested Tomoya, his face desperate and pouty. “But we were drunk last time!”

“Shh!” hissed Hokuto at his raised voice, eyeing the other two warily. “Last time was a mistake, Tomoya. I was drunk too and I ended up taking advantage of you… I don’t want to make a habit of sleeping together just because we’re drunk.”

He looked back to Tomoya’s eyes to find them full of tears.

“Eh? Tomoya?” he questioned, moving onto his knees and warily hovering his hands over him as he began to sob loudly. “Tomoya, shhhh!”

“Hokuto-senpai, you idiot!” he cried between hiccups, swiping his fists against his eyes. “I thought… I thought you didn’t regret it!”

“I don’t regret _it_ , per se!” whispered Hokuto quickly, trying to shush him. “Just- just the circumstances! Tomoya, please, stop crying. You’ll wake Akehoshi and Shino-kun!”

“Tomoya-kun?”

Hokuto froze. Hajime had stirred at last and was trying to sit up, despite Subaru’s tight hold.

“Shino-kun, I’m sorry,” said Hokuto earnestly as Tomoya continued to wail. “I’ll quiet him down, it seems he’s a bit of an emotional drunk…”

Hajime stared at him in concern, but he still had sleep in his eyes and Subaru wasn’t allowing him to sit up fully.

“Should I take him home?” asked Hajime with a small yawn. Hokuto dreaded the thought of the two small boys, one intoxicated, walking home by themselves.

“No, no,” insisted Hokuto. “I can handle him. Please go back to sleep, Shino-kun, don’t worry.”

Tomoya’s cries had slowly died off into quiet sobs and hiccups, but he wasn’t looking at Hajime. Eventually Subaru gave a great squeeze and Hajime conceded to go back to sleep. Hokuto sighed.

“Tomoya, it’s time for bed,” he said, standing and going to the closet to prepare a futon. Tomoya cried quietly until he had it set up and allowed him to guide him into it.

“Hokuto-senpai, you idiot…” he mumbled again as he huddled under the covers.

“I’m sorry, Tomoya,” said Hokuto again, leaning forward and kissing his forehead. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow, okay?”

Tomoya humphed defiantly and turned away. Hokuto sighed. He stood, picked up his bag, and went to sleep in his own bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading!


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